Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the

Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest town, Rotherham, but also spans the outlying towns of Maltby, South Yorkshire, Maltby, Swinton, South Yorkshire, Swinton, ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. ...

, England. It is a

metropolitan district council A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolit ...

, one of four in South Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England. The council was created by the Local Government Act 1972. In February 2015 the elected council had its powers suspended and transferred to commissioners appointed by

HM Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

after it was severely criticised by the Casey report into the

Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal consisted of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until the 2010s and the failure of local authorities to a ...

. Power is being returned to the council in phases, with the council expected to fully regain its powers by March 2019.

History

The current local authority was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the

on 1 April 1974. The council gained

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

, entitling it to be known as Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. It was envisaged through the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

that Rotherham as a metropolitan local authority would share power with the

South Yorkshire County Council The South Yorkshire County Council (SYCC) — also known as South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council — was the top-tier local government authority for the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire from 1 April 1974 to 31 March 1986. A strategic ...

. The split of powers and functions meant that the South Yorkshire County Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance and waste disposal with the district authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and refuse collection. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the South Yorkshire County Council. The

Local Government Act 1985 The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the six county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974, 11 years earlier, by the Local Government Act 1972 ...

directed the councils of South Yorkshire to form joint arrangements, which are coordinated by the

South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat The South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat (SYJS) is a body established to provide support to the four joint authorities that were formed in South Yorkshire following the abolition of the South Yorkshire County Council in 1986. When the county council ...

, in order to deliver these functions.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Rotherham is within a

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

area of England. It provides the majority of local government services in Rotherham, including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council appoints members to

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of South Yorkshire, England. The service covers the areas of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. In 2020, Chris Kirby was appointed its Chief Fire ...

, the

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings. Th ...

and it is a constituent council of the

Sheffield City Region Combined Authority The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is the combined authority for South Yorkshire in England, with powers over transport (public transport and major trunk roads only), economic development and regeneration. It covers a total area of 3 ...

Political control

Councillors are elected from 25 wards. Each ward returns two or three members, giving a total of 59 councillors. Elections to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council were last held on 6 May 2021. Although Labour retained control of the council, the Conservatives went from zero to 20 seats at this election. In December 2021, there were two by-elections in Anston and Woodsetts and Aughton and Swallownest, both Conservative defences. They failed to defend both of them, with the former going Liberal Democrat and the latter going Labour.

Commissioners

In February 2015 the elected council was suspended and replaced by commissioners appointed by

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

after it was severely criticised by the Casey report into the

. The commissioners were later named as Sir Derek Myers (lead commissioner),

Stella Manzie Dame Stella Gordon Manzie (born 13 June 1960) is a British public servant. Early life Manzie was born on 13 June 1960 to senior civil servant Gordon Manzie and Rosalind Manzie. She was educated at Hertfordshire and Essex Girls' High Scho ...

(managing director commissioner), Malcolm Newsam (children's social care commissioner), Mary Ney and Julie Kenny (supporting commissioners). The

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction ...

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State f ...

, said that they would remain in charge of the council until March 2019, though he expected that there would be a "phased roll back of powers to the authority as and when there can be confidence that the authority could exercise a function in compliance with the best value duty, and in the case of children's social care, to the required standard."

References

External links

Council website
* {{Metropolitan districts of England Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in South Yorkshire Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England